This invention relates to power regulation. More particularly, this invention relates to safe power delivery.
A traditional Universal Serial Bus (USB) jack continually provides a power supply signal at a specific voltage to any cable connected to that USB jack via a USB plug. The electrical contacts of a traditional USB plug, however, are protected by a protective housing so that a user cannot accidentally touch the contacts of the USB plug.
Not all cables operable to mate with a USB jack, however, utilize USB plugs at each end. In fact, some cables include a protected USB plug at one end and an unprotected plug at the other end. Such cables are able to connect a USB device with a device that does not have a USB jack. Such cables are deficient, however, as a power supply signal may be provided to the unprotected plug when the unprotected plug is not mated to a device. A person touching an unprotected plug may be harmed as an undesirable power supply signal may flow directly into that person's body. Such cables are also deficient as an undesirable power supply signal may be provided to a device even if the unprotected plug is not properly mated with the device. A device may be severely damaged if a power signal is provided to the wrong contacts of a device or an undesirable power signal is provided to the correct contacts of a device. Accordingly, it is therefore desirable to provide a cable with improved safety measures for both human and device interaction.
Additionally, companies occasionally try to create accessories for devices without the permission of the manufacturers of such devices. Such accessories are deficient, however, and may harm the devices by providing data and power signals that can damage the devices. It is therefore desirable to eliminate the ability of third-party accessories to access a device in order to protect such a device from receiving data and power signals that may damage the device.
Traditional USB protocols include ACK (receipt of error-free data packet), NAK (receiving device cannot accept data), STALL (end is postponed), and NYET (no response yet). Such protocols are deficient, however, as such protocols do not provide enhanced functionality. It is therefore desirable to provide circuitry with an enhanced range of communication capabilities and device functionality.